NJ town you’ve never heard of was an important part of history

Not many folks in New Jersey have reason to head to Cumberland County in the far southern part of the state. It's very rural and kind of an isolated forgotten part of the state.

Within the township of Greenwich (pronounced green-witch) lies the unincorporated town of Othello, New Jersey.

It's rarely mentioned and living in South Jersey most of my life, I've never heard of it before.

A listener told us about it and its history is quite unique. It was a part of the "Underground Railroad" in the 1800s and legend has it that Harriett Tubman was actually there.

Historic Bethel Othello African Methodist Episcopal Church served its congregation since 1795. The Bethel Othello Church was built by the free Black community between 1838 and 1841.

An older church on the site burned down mysteriously prior to that time about a mile away from the current structure. At one time, the town of Greenwich was a major port along the Delaware Bay, before railroads and other more prominent ports along the Atlantic Coast of New Jersey.

It's quiet and remote and filled with forgotten history. It's also the home of a few famous fishing towns along the Delaware Bay, such as Fortescue and Bivalve. Yeah, I know you probably never heard of those either.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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